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nt or spirit; monotonous; as, a flat speech or composition. How weary, stale, flat, and unprofitable Seem to me all the uses of this world. Shak.

ss and bloom; as, the flower of life, that is, youth. The choice and flower of all things profitable the Psalms do more briefly contain. Hooker. The flower of the chivalry of all Spain. Southey. A simple maiden in her flower Is worth a hundred coats of arms. Tennyson.

tached, formerly worn by professional jesters. -- Fool's errand, an unreasonable, silly, profitless adventure or undertaking. -- Fool's gold, iron or copper pyrites, resembling gold in color. -- Fool's paradise, a name applied to a limbo (see under Limbo) popularly believed to be the region of vanity and nonsense. H…

rs must their promised heaven forego. Keble. [He] never forewent an opportunity of honest profit. R. L. Stevenson.

One who enjoys the profits, income, or increase of anything. Kings are not proprietors nor fructuaries. Prynne.

Fruitful; productive; profitable. [Obs.] Nothing fructuous or profitable. Chaucer. -- Fruc"tu*ous*ly, adv. -- Fruc"tu*ous*ness, n. [Obs.]

t of anything valuable which expends nothing unnecessarily, and applies what is used to a profitable purpose; thrift; --- opposed to extravagance. Frugality is founded on the principle that all riches have limits. Burke.

Productive of no advantage or good effect; vain; idle; useless; unprofitable; as, a fruitless attempt; a fruitless controversy. They in mutual accusation spent The fruitless hours. Milton.

Vain; useless; unprofitable. [Obs.] South.

Vain; ineffectual; useless; unprofitable; null; voil; nugatory; of no effect. "Our frustrate search." Shak.

priated as the foundation of some commercial or other operation undertaken with a view to profit; that reserve by means of which expenses and credit are supported; as, the fund of a bank, commercial house, manufacturing corporation, etc.

Convenient; suitable; direct; near; handy; dexterous; easy; profitable; cheap; respectable. [Obs. or Prov. Eng.]

The profit made by tillage; also, the land itself. Bouvier.

Profitable; advantageous; lucrative. "A gainful speculation." Macaulay. -- Gain"ful*ly, adv. -- Gain"ful*ness, n.

Not producing gain; unprofitable. Hammond. -- Gain"less/ness, n.

To make acquisition; to gain; to profit; to receive accessions; to be increased. We mourn, France smiles; we lose, they daily get. Shak.

That which is got or obtained; gain; profit.

conformity to, the laws of God; the state or quality of being godly; piety. Godliness is profitable unto all things. 1 Tim. iv. 8.

. All is grist that comes to his mill, all that he has anything to do with is a source of profit. [Colloq.] -- To bring grist to the maill, to bring profitable business into one's hands; to be a source of profit. [Colloq.] Ayliffe.

, before they are diminished by any deduction, as for expenses; -- distinguished from net profits. Abbott. -- Gross weight the total weight of merchandise or goods, without deduction for tare, tret, or waste; -- distinguished from neat, or net, weight.